Audio-Visual Guidelines

Televised presentation materials will be shown at the discretion of the meeting chairperson.

All materials shall be submitted three working days in advance for presentations requiring the Communications Division’s assistance.

All audio visual materials submitted must have a label noting the contact person and daytime telephone number.

The City Manager must review all materials for City Council meetings. Commission staff members will review materials for Commission meetings.

If approval is granted by the Chairperson, Communications staff will run all presentations from the control room adjacent to the Council Chambers. Please arrive at the meeting early and check in with the Communications staff person to finalize the details on your presentation and verify the agenda item number.

Outside materials shown at Planning Commission and the City Council meetings become part of the public record and will be kept by the City Clerk’s or Planning Department.

VHS or SVHS tapes or DVD's can be played by the City’s equipment. Video shall be queued to the location where the speaker would like the video to begin.

Staff recommends that the video be no more than 5 minutes in length. City policy is to limit those addressing the Council or Commission on an item to 5 minutes. The applicant has the choice of speaking for 5 minutes, showing the video (with the approval of the chairperson), or a combination of the two not to exceed 5 minutes unless extended by the chairperson.

Communications staff will preview the tape to check broadcast quality and compatibility with the existing system. Communications staff will notify the person submitting the tape as far in advance as possible if the video is not playable in city equipment.

The Communications Division has published a Guide for PowerPoint on Television. If you will be using PowerPoint slides as part of a presentation during a televised meeting, the Communications Division strongly encourages you to follow this advice to make your visual aids as clear to the viewer at home as possible. copies of the guide are also available at the City Clerk’s Department.

PowerPoint files can be accepted on CD-ROM, DVD or USB memory stick. The Communictions Division will check the disk for viruses once the presentation has been reviewed by the appropriate staff members. If there are problems with the presentation, you will be contacted as soon as possible.

Communications staff will run the presentation from the control room; the speaker should be prepared to say “Next Slide” for each slide change during the presentation.

Please review the Guide for PowerPoint on Television for format advice!

It is recommended that maps or other visual display items be scanned and inserted into a PowerPoint presentation. If this is not possible, maps may be tacked to the wall boards at the right of the dais. For large, freestanding displays, presenters should bring their own easels and consult with the Communications staff prior to the meeting for placement to best show the exhibit on camera.

The City’s Communications staff is available to answer questions regarding your presentation at any stage in your preparation! Please do not hesitate to give us a call if you need advice on format, suggestions on what type of medium to use, or if you would like to test your presentation prior to submitting the final version. We can be reached at the number listed on the right side of this page.